Journeys seldom begin where we think they do. Mine, started with that big tiger called Bagh mama (uncle tiger) emerging out of the woods in that nursery room years ago. Even, in the beginning I was hesitant on what was drawing me to the Sundarbans? Was it the Tiger or the jungle? Actually, they both did. The jungle was conquered yet, the tiger remained as the sylvan of the forest… I admit. The quest for exploring the Sundarbans began after my arrival in Calcutta, and that with the Backpackers office; tactically located to the opposite of hotel Shams; keeps tempting its passers by. I partly induced, partly forced my self by infusing, ‘this excursion for exploring the west Bengal would remain incomplete with out the Sundarbans being not stopped over’. As a result, squeezing out a couple of days from my open-ended jaunt was figured out quickly. I have been to this mangrove forest a number of times passing through Khulna but those trips covered the half falling within our territory. This time it would be the other half of the same jungle from the Indian end; Followed by a craving to sneak in to its history too. The office is hung with a series of paraphernalia of the Sundarbans. The curly haired, slovenly dressed co-owner sat in front of his desktop, in cognisant to his actions only, he initially ignored my presence until a German tourist followed my footsteps a minute later. Skin colour mattered. Thus, we were given a detailed itinerary of the three types of package tours offered by the agency. The trips are undertaken only then, when a group formation is confirmed. A group is formed with a number of minimum 5 to a maximum of 10 tourists for a trip. After 25 minutes of painstaking hesitation I decided to enrol for a one night and two days package tour with a group, completely unknown and which would start at 7:30 the next morning. Furthermore, we were told that sighting of the tiger depended on our luck. Day 1 All the members of the group gathered in the morning with an unending eagerness in front of the Backpackers office. The agency amusingly placed me in a group of foreigners consisting of a retired Swiss couple, a newly married Australian couple, a young Indian pair followed by the German lady of yesterday. An interesting blending of different nationals in one place, where me being the only Bengali as well as only Bangladeshi. A curious Amalgamation of such diverse nature in profession, nationality and age, appeared to my sleuth like mind as a perfect backdrop for a Hercule Poirot mystery plot, in the woods. How ever, after submitting our passports, all 8 of us begin walking towards the Indian museum end of Sudder street where a Microbus awaited us to take us to Godkhali Ferry stand, the last road point up till crossing of the river Matla to the island Gosaba. We began our ‘2 days-1 night’ sojourn at 8 to be precise and reached Godkhali just before 12 in the noon. Island Gosaba is devoid of electricity. The ride to the ferry stand was impeded with traffic jams and bumpy roads together with summer heat. Then again, here after a tiny box of breakfast we got a chance to get intimate with one another. Crossing the river Matla for landing in Gosaba is through a diesel engine boat instead of a ferry which is some 50 plus feet in length and lesser than 5 feet wide, carrying motor bikes to vegetable vendors to villagers to the other end. The river Matla forms a wide estuary in and around the Sundarbans in South 24 Parganas district. Gosaba is a typical pastoral island in the south’s, with a cluster alike villages, the group formed in sub-groups embarked on cycle driven carts for a half hour bouncy ride through a muddy path leading us to the other end of the island; at a place called Pakhiralaya. As of now, we were watchfully guided by two of the guides, the driver and his assistant; duly assigned by the tour agency, and later came to witness their amazing multi tasking capabilities. We got off the carts with parched throats. The south Khulna vernacular made me feel at home. As we reached Pakhiralaya village we were commanded to follow the guides for another 20 minute walk leading us very near to the shores. We were then taken to a small straw hut and served lunch with local cuisine followed by a short break before a two hour river cruise for bird watching; in a country boat. After the post lunch Hiatus we were back on our feet again and this time with our luggage for the only rest house in the island, located within 200 yards of a quay that leads to the river. This time the path was that of a narrow trail, zigzagged and bouncy along the swampy shoreline, and wide enough for one person to walk at a time. We advanced in the shape of an obedient echelon of troops. Being off season, we failed to run in to the honey collectors but came across a small temple where the deity is the Royal Bengal Tiger and the residents of the Sundarbans – its obedient subjects. People in here are amazingly recalcitrant to their own beliefs about the tiger (Bonbibi, the Goddess of the forest) which to some extent encompasses their way of life. There is one factor that impacts the dreams, dramas, fears and reverences of the peoples of the Sundarbans: that’s the Tiger factor. Currently, this part is home to a number of less than 300 Royal Bengal tigers. A saunter through the beautiful paddy fields led us to a three multi storied building. It has 4 rooms in each of the floors with very basic amenities. We on the other hand were given choices either to spend the night in the rest house or at the ‘Elmar’- a local fishing trawler converted in to a diesel engine cruise boat, also, in which we would be travelling the next morning. I chose ‘Elmar’. So did the Indian pair along with the German tourist, while the others had settled for the rest house. ‘Elmar’, which was anchored at a distance beside a concrete quay, appeared more like a timid colourful floating toy. ‘Elmar’ in Spanish means “the sea”. Even though, it endeavours only into the salty waters of the Sundarbans. Not to be elapsed that it was initially built to be a fishing trawler; inside only salty water is available in the toilets with coffin like sleeping cabins. Nevertheless, some time around 3 we boarded in a fishing boat for bird watching and spotted 6 types of bird according to my foreign friends. For me, I could only identify the kingfisher and the pond heron, while others were more astute in bird matters. The jungle is home to more than 160 species of birds together with endemic, globally threatened and birds of prey. We passed by village women fishing baby prawns. Furthermore, we got introduced to the exquisite mangroves with its surreal creatures like the skipping frogs, Hermit & fiddler crabs, and mud skipper fish. Continuous high and low tides make its creek and shores slippery and marshy. With the high tides taking its course, we began to retreat. The area is flooded with salty water during high tides mixing with freshwater from inland rivers. (dhaka courier)